I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Chelsea. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Chelsea - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I want to rent out my leasehold flat in Chelsea. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Chelsea conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Chelsea.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Chelsea. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £325000 flat in Chelsea in 10 days. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Chelsea?

For most leasehold sales in Chelsea conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Chelsea
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Chelsea leasehold property is £350. For Chelsea conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Chelsea. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Chelsea conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Chelsea residence is 150A Albert Palace Mansions Lurline Gardens in July 2013. The Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the new lease of the subject property was £42,069 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.06 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chelsea